Welcome to the online diary of a Central Oregon Grandmother (me) who is busy celebrating the positive portions of her everyday life ... along with her best friend husband (Cary). It is quite an eclectic diary and I try to do my best to incorporate a little bit of history into many of my posts. Your visit to our piece of American Pie is greatly appreciated. This chatty Kathy posts frequently, so coming back to visit often is highly encouraged.

Showing you Oregon,one post at a time. Did you know that I post the links of many of my stories and articles on the sidebar? When you have extra time, please scroll down to see more. At the bottom of this page there are links to many other blogs that I enjoy.

Hello, friends, thank you so much for stopping by. I really hope that you will enjoy your visit to Oregon Gifts. Due to spam, I am not accepting comments from anonymous people. Please email me at: oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy@hotmail.com if you are unable to leave a comment on here. I write back through email when I can.

My words and photographs are copyrighted, and may not be used without permission, even on Pinterest.

~ Kathy M.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Books: Recent Reads

Leaving Home

A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories

by

Garrison Keillor

Copyright 1987

This was so fun to read. It is an oldie but goodie, a compilation of Mr. Keillor's monologues that he told on his Prairie Home Companion radio show, about the folks living in Lake Wobegon.

Thirty-six stand alone short stories that sometimes intertwine and overlap just because they have to do with people living in the same town. The town of Lake Wobegon.

It is an older book, but I found two copies at St. Vincent de Paul, so keep your eyes open for it because it is wonderful. I am sure that you can still check this book out at the library.

Reading this book gave me a great idea. I can tell short stories about people living in a made up town. I know that I can do that! Not as well as Garrison Keillor, but we all need to begin somewhere, now, don't we? The main point is to just begin. Since reading this book, I have decided to start writing short stories that will not go on my blog, but that are too good to be forever lost in this Grandma's memory bank.

Drowning Ruth

by

Christina Schwarz

Copyright 2000

This is an Oprah's Book Club choice from a decade ago. Does she still have a book club? I think she does, because the Secret Life of Bees was one of her choices, and it is not that old. I'll choose a book if it has that logo on it; but I choose many books that do not.

When I first started reading this book, I put it down for about a month. I thought, oh no, is this about some psycho lady killing a little girl? I didn't want to deal with that at the time. Then, last week, I picked it up again, and it really is an interesting and intricate story with many twists and turns. An amazing first novel, in my opinion.

It is about a woman, Amanda, and how her choices effect her family members and others in their small lakeside community in Wisconsin. It really is a good book. Maybe you can still find it in the library? I got this one at St. Vinnie's too.

4 comments:

Today must be the day for book postings! I posted about Water for Elephants. :) Love your idea about writing stories down and not blogging about them. I read a quote recently that said, "Every word in your blog is a word not in your book." Food for thought, that. I have heard of Drowning Ruth, but never read it. If you say it's a good one, I'll give it a go!

Hey Kathy! By all means, get to writing those short stories and do not post them on your blog! NO! Because you will put them all in a book to sell!! :)And Lisa...oooh, that quote is very true and with that, m'dears...I say "good night"!

Becky, you are the best ... you keep encouraging me. I am working through this writing stuff a little at a time. It is kind of like getting my new camera was, taking my time and getting over my fears before I begin. It's funny. I like the idea of selling stories though!

Contact Info:

There are a lot of photos and other graphics on here, so it may take a while to load if you have a slower internet connection. I really appreciate the fact that some of you wait patiently to see what I have posted. Thank you to all my readers! Please leave a comment or send me an email at: oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy@hotmail.com

About Me:

Welcome to "Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy" My name is Kathy Matthews and I live in Central Oregon with my best friend husband, Cary. I am a fifth generation Oregonian who loves to take pictures, write, create, and go places with Cary. My main blog, Oregon Gifts, is an online journal, where I try my best to celebrate the positive portions of everyday life. My other blogs are off-shoots into my particular interest areas. Please enjoy your visit, and leave a comment if you feel led. If you would like to email me, here is my email address: oregongiftsofcomfortandjoy@
hotmail.com
Thank you!

"Celebrating the Positive Portions of Everyday Life."

Most of the photos on these websites were taken by me. Others are from my friends and family's FB pages. Enjoy them, but please do not claim them as your own or use/copy them. Thanks! All rights reserved on the contents of this website. Created by Kathy Matthews of Central Oregon, November 2008.